“Deepwater Horizon” a Disaster for all Living Creatures
By Skip Sheffield
“Deepwater Horizon” dramatizes the disastrous explosion and
subsequent oil spill of the oil rig of the same name, off the coast of
Louisiana in April of 2010.
“Deepwater” concentrates on events leading up to the big
bang; not on the even more horrendous after effects of one of the largest oil
spills in history, polluting the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to Florida.
Mark Wahlberg plays our everyman, Mike Williams and Kate
Hudson is his concerned wife, Felicia. Kurt Russell is the senior rig worker
and safety officer, “Mister” Jimmy Harrell.
The rig has a crew of 126. It is located about 40 miles off
the coast of Louisiana. Workers are transported by helicopter. For dramatic
effect you need villains. In this case it is BP (British Petroleum) officials
who pressure the workers to keep drilling on the floating rig; despite the fact
the integrity of the cement is unknown. The project is $53 million over budget
and more than a month behind schedule. Head BP official Vitrine (John
Malkovich) insists the men press on; despite ominous warnings this is “the well
from Hell.”
That pretty much it in the way of plot, based on news
articles by Matthew Sand and Stephanie Saul. What is not covered in this movie
is the number of casualties (11), though the number of injuries (17) is
inferred.
What is not covered was the aftermath of this disaster,
which amounted to the worst oil spill in the history of the world. People on
the Gulf Coast of the USA are still dealing with the consequences. “Deepwater
Horizon” is a disaster movie, but it could have been more. In our mania to
drill for oil, the consequences are daunting. In this sense this movie could be
a call for clean, renewable energy sources.
FYI: Boca plumber Les Goldstein came up with the solution to capping the well but BP never acknowledged it. He never wanted any money, merely recognition for it.
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